


And Then It Didn't

by orphan_account



Series: Detroit Evolution Artfest [JUL 2020] [5]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Cussing, DEArtfest, Engagement, F/F, Implied Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Indirect Non-con mention, Kissing, Lesbian Tina Chen, M/M, Swearing, mermaid au, mermaids are called Ceta sapiens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25327927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Nines has been spending time with two humans (he had learned their names are Gavin and Tina) for mouths now. He loved to rest his head in Gavin's lap when he put his feet into the water and have him run his hand through Nines' hair. When Gavin tries to leave on a night Nines is feeling particularly clingy, he brings Gavin one of the biggest surprises of his life.
Relationships: Tina Chen & Gavin Reed, Tina Chen | Valerie Morales-Chen, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Detroit Evolution Artfest [JUL 2020] [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811665
Comments: 3
Kudos: 56





	And Then It Didn't

“Congrats, T. I really am happy for you,” Gavin said, sending his best friend a small smile. The two of them were walking towards the ceta tank in the aquarium where they worked. The two them usually talked after their shifts with their feet in the water. Nines, one of the cetas in the tank, usually came up to the surface of the water to hang out with them, even if he couldn’t understand what they were saying.

“Val and I are so excited! We’re already planning the wedding!” Tina said as she pushed open the door. Gavin raised an eyebrow.

“You two were planning the wedding before you even started going out,” Tina elbowed Gavin in the side as they approached the edge of the water. 

“Hush, you. We’re seriously starting to plan the wedding.”

“I know, I know, I’m messin’ with ya, T.” The two of them sat down by the edge and quickly took off their shoes. Gavin was wearing shorts that day, so he was able to stick his feet right in. Tina had to roll up her pants legs first but joined Gavin in the water a moment later. She started to tell Gavin how Valerie, her now-fiancee, had proposed to her when a brown-haired head stuck out of the water. Nines’ face was still mostly in the water, only his eyes and the top half of the fins on the side of his head were visible. 

“There he is!” Gavin smiled and waved at the ceta, before using the same hand to pat his thigh. Nines dove back under the water, the shadow of his mass moving towards Gavin until he reappeared right in front of the human. Gavin ran a hand through Nines’ hair, the ceta let out a loud, high-pitched purr as he leaned into the touch.

“Nines, look! I’m getting married!” Tina leaned over and presented her left hand to Nines, showing him the ring on her finger. Nines looked at the shiny gemstone on the ring curiously, his head tilting to the side and eyes dilating.

“Careful, T. Mermaids are known to take shiny things,” Gavin warned. Tina shrugged. 

“Nines is nice. He won’t take it.” Tina took the ring off anyway, reaching over to her bag and putting it inside. Though she had faith Nines wouldn’t take it, she still didn’t want to drop it into the deep saltwater. Without Tina showing him anything anymore, Nines turned his attention back to Gavin. He folded his arms over Gavin’s lap, then rested his head on top of them. He closed his eyes and made a quiet noise similar to that of purring from the back of his throat. The two humans resumed the conversation they had been having before Nines showed up, this time with Gavin absentmindedly running his hand through Nines’ hair. 

“Nines favors you so much more than me. I wonder why that is.” Tina said with a pout. Gavin chuckled. 

“Jealous, T? Maybe he’ll bring us his friend tomorrow. He’s been spending more time with Ada since that injury a couple of weeks ago.” Speaking of Nines’ injury, Gavin gently grabbed Nines’ chin and tilted his head up so he could examine the fading marks on his neck. Nines made a displeased noise, his face scrunching up, but he didn’t fight Gavin. 

“Did they ever figure out what caused that? There’s nothing in the habitat that Nines could have cut himself on.” Tina asked. As she spoke, she leaned closer to Gavin so she could also examine the scars. 

“No, they didn’t. Cameras didn’t catch anything either, not that Nines shows up much on them anyway. It’s almost like he knows how to avoid ‘em.” Nines made another shrill, not as high as the one he had made earlier. Done examining his neck, Gavin moved his hand from Nines’ chin to cup his cheek. Tina and Gavin talked for a little longer, then Valerie called and Tina had to leave. Gavin stayed with Nines a little longer.

“Hey, I gotta leave now, Nines,” Gavin said, gently pressing pushing on Nines’ shoulder. Nines made a displeased, almost aggressive sound, his arms wrapped around Gavin’s legs. Those kinds of noises weren’t uncommon among merfolk, Gavin had heard them plenty of times before. But coming from Nines? It terrified him. The bread of ceta in this tank wasn’t the most aggressive out there, but they were some of the strongest. If Nines wanted to, he could yank Gavin into the water and tear him apart. And Gavin knew that. 

“N-Nines, I have to go now. Please, let me go.” Gavin shook his legs gently, trying to get Nines to let go of them. Gavin could hear his heart beating in his ears and feel it in his chest, though he tried not to show it. It clearly didn’t work, Nines’ eyes softened when he realized he was scaring Gavin. 

Nines let go of Gavin’s legs, though he kept a hand on his ankle. “I… I’m… sorry…” He said, with much difficulty. 

Gavin stared at him, surprised. Mermaids weren’t supposed to be sentient, he shouldn’t have been able to say something in a human language. “Y-You can talk?”

Nines narrowed his eyes, trying to recall everything he’s heard from Gavin and Tina’s conversations, as well as the conversations of other caretakers. “Y-Yes…”

Gavin shook his head. There was no way this was happening. He had to be dreaming. He was having a conversation with Nines. In English. A human language. He closed his eyes, lifted his arms, and pinched the underside of his wrist. He opened his eyes and Nines was still there, in front of him, looking at where he had pinched himself with confusion.

“...why..?” Nines asked. He couldn’t understand why Gavin would hurt himself.

“I was making sure I wasn’t dreaming. That I’m actually talking to you.” Gavin said, slowly to make sure he didn’t begin to panic. This was happening. This was happening. This was happening. Holy shit this was hap-

“Dre..am...ing?” Nines asked, looking up at Gavin with a curious glance. 

“Yeah… When humans fall asleep they imagine things in their minds. I think you guys do it too- I’ll have to check…” Gavin said. He was going to grab his phone from his bag, but he noticed Nines staring at the wall, even more confused than before. “...you don’t know what most of those words mean, huh?”

Right. Nines was struggling to talk to him, only saying a few words at a time. Barely that. He probably learned from hearing humans talk with one another. He had probably picked up words used in common sentence structure, but nouns were totally lost on him. 

Gavin was right, Nines didn’t understand most of what Gavin was saying. He didn’t know what ‘words’ or ‘mean’ meant, but he could piece together the rest, so he shook his head. “No…” But he wants to know. What’s the human word for ‘want’? Was it ‘like’? It seemed like it could be ‘like’.

“I… like… to… know…”

“You like to know?” Gavin furrowed his brows together. Nines’ sentence wasn’t grammatically correct, which meant it was entirely possible he wanted to say something else but didn’t know the actual word he was looking for. “...you _would_ like to know? You want me to teach you English?”

So that was the human word for ‘want’. That much Nines could figure out. But what did ‘teach’ and ‘English’ mean? He didn’t know enough to respond to what his human was saying. He made a confused sound, something of a high purr. 

“Uh… you want me to help you know human words?” Gavin asked, trying to speak with words Nines seemed to understand. Nines nodded slowly. So he understood Gavin that time. 

“I… want… to… know…” Nines said. Gavin thought for a moment. He had just learned Nines was sentient, should teaching him English really be his first move? Shouldn’t he do something about Nines being kept in captivity? What about the other cetas in the tank? One thing at a time. He’ll start with teaching Nines English. Then… maybe he’d do something about Nines being kept in a tank. 

“Okay,” Gavin said after a short silence, “I’ll help you know. But other humans can’t know you know, okay?” Nines nodded, his face lighting up with a smile. Gavin wanted to run his hair though Nines’ hair, but now it felt weird. Nines could process the gesture further than it being something he enjoyed. Gavin stood up, giving his legs a moment to dry off before he attempted to put his shoes on. “I need to go, but I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Gavin called Tina on his way home that day. She took a moment to process, but she wasn’t too surprised. Over the next few weeks, the two of them would spend the time after their shifts teaching Nines English. He was getting better quickly, despite the fact they weren’t good teachers. Then one day he brought a friend. 

“Do you guys mind if another mermaid joins us today?” He asked them, head once again on top of folded arms in Gavin’s lap. Nines still felt awkward petting Nines like he was a cat, not that he was doing anything different from before he found out Nines was sentient. But Gavin still did it anyway, since Nines seemed to get fussy if he didn’t. One time, when Gavin hadn’t pet him for a week, Nines grabbed his hand and put it on his head himself. At least hearing Nines purring was nice. 

“Which one?” Tina asked. 

“Is it Ada? She is the only one you really spend time with…” Gavin asked. Nines hummed. 

“I think ‘Ada” is the name I’ve heard the guides calling her.” Nines backed away from Gavin, before disappearing under the water. The gray-blue fin at the end of Nines’ deep-blue slightly splashed water at the human, fully intended. A few minutes later he returned, further into the water. A blonde head poked out of the water next to him. Ada kept most of her face under the water as she eyed them, her bangs and red fins the only thing visible. 

Ada didn’t like humans. Humans took her from her home, expected her to live in this smaller environment, and be their entertainment. She had tried to get out before, but it had never worked. Her last attempt, she had somehow made a friend instead. Nines. 

Nines didn’t go back to Gavin’s lap. He knew she wasn’t fond of humans, and he didn’t want to upset her by being affectionate with him. He did keep a hand on Gavin’s ankle as he approached the edge of the water. He looked around, suddenly realizing Ada wasn’t by his side. His eyes landed on Ada further into the water, then he made a few clicking noises at her. She made a few more back at him, slowly approaching the humans.

Nines and Ada were known among the staff for their disdain for humans, so they didn’t bother them as much as some of the others in their tank. Nines had been born in the tank of another aquarium and sent to the one they were at now once he grew into adulthood. Nines aggressively fought the staff when they were trying to move him, the blue-tailed ceta refused to leave his older brother, Connor. They were eventually able to push him into a transportation tank, and after that Nines stopped fighting them. Whenever they tried to touch him, he made displeased noises but didn’t try to fight against them. Nines did eventually adapt to the new aquarium, happy to do tricks for the children watching him outside. If someone tapped on the glass near him, he’d come over and tap back. But he wasn’t seen around other cetas very often.

Ada, on the other hand, had been taken from the wild. She didn’t have any siblings, and her parents had died before her egg hatched. Ada fought the humans that captured her with everything she had, even killing a few in the process, but the humans were stronger. Ada was aggressive with staff members and hid away from guests during visiting hours. She even claimed a corner of the tank that she could hide from guests, the guides, and the cameras. The owners of the aquarium knew she was a potential threat to the other cetas in the tank, but the aquarium got paid for every mermaid they owned, so they kept her around. They didn’t actual evidence that she was hurting any of the others, so inspectors were never notified of her aggressive nature. 

Cautiously, Ada came closer, a curious shrill leaving her. Nines mimicked the sound. Gavin and Tina watched Ada approach, making sure not to make any sudden moves. 

“Hi, Ada,” Tina said after a moment of silence. Ada looked at her, started to growl, then cut herself off. She had promised Nines she wouldn’t do this. These humans were nice. Or so Nines had told her. She didn’t believe him. 

“...hello…” She said after a moment. Gavin looked at Nines, an eyebrow raised. 

“I’ve told her some of the things you guys have been teaching me,” Nines explained before pressing a kiss to Gavin’s bare knee. He had seen other humans press their lips to one another, and it seemed to be something of comfort. He figured it would be an appropriate gesture. Gavin, knowing the actual connotations of the action, went red and looked away. 

Tina and Gavin began teaching Ada English alongside Nines. It took a little bit for her to catch up, but she was also a fast learner. Ada became slightly more comfortable around the two humans but still kept her guard up around them.

“Gavin, are they going to hurt me?” Nines asked one day. Gavin tensed before he fully processed the question. He was alone with the two cetas, Tina had gone home to take care of her sick fiancee. Ada let out a distressed noise at Nines’s question, completely involuntary.

“What do you mean?” He wasn’t sure what Nines was talking about, but he didn’t like it. The question already sent chills up his spine, the explanation couldn’t be better. 

“I heard the scientists talking about sending me to a ‘breeding facility’ tomorrow.” Fuck. “What’s a ‘breeding facility’? It doesn’t sound very fun…”

“They said they’d do this tomorrow?” Gavin asked. He knew the scientists’ Nines was referring to had been hoping that Ada and Nines would breed, but two mating seasons had passed and they hadn’t. A third one was approaching, and they still weren’t showing pre-mating signs. If Nines was sent off to a breeding center, they would force him to mate. And he’d stay there until he was too old to mate. Then they would kill him.

“Yeah, they said tomorrow they…” Nines words trailed off. He noticed how tense Gavin got. That concerned him. A lot. “Am… Am I not coming back?” Ada made another distressed noise. She gripped Nines’ arm. 

If Gavin did nothing, he’d probably never see Nines again. But what could Gavin do? Convince his handlers not to take him to the breeding facility? Get Nines out. Tonight. That was the only thing he could do. The two cetas watched Gavin. Ada didn’t want Nines to leave. Nines didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want Gavin and Ada taken away from him. Not again. 

“...Gavin..?” Nines placed his head on Gavin’s lap. “Please don’t let them take me away… I don’t want to leave you and Ada…” Gavin had been avoiding looking at Nines since the conversation started. He finally let himself look at him, and he regretted it immediately. There was a pleading look in his eyes. He looked… scared. He hadn’t seen that look on Nines’ face since he arrived years ago. Gavin cupped Nines’s jaw. 

“I won’t let them take you away from us. But we’ll have to get you and Ada out of here. Tonight.”

“How do you plan to do that? We can’t live out of water for long.” Ada asked. At this point she was gripping Nines’ arm hard enough his skin was turning white. The blood under where they were touching was glowing an ambient blue. Scientists were still trying to figure out why that happens. 

“Well…” Gavin hadn’t exactly had the time to think that part through. All he knew was he had to get them out, Tonight. “...we could… use the trucks they brought you here with…”

Nines and Ada backed away from Gavin instantly. There was another kind of fearful look on their face. The kind that comes from experience. From the past. Those trucks brought nothing but bad memories. Gavin didn’t know why they had moved away so suddenly, but he tried to reassure them. “Hey, the trucks aren’t that bad. Sure they’re uncomfortable, but-”

“They forced us into the trucks. They took us from our homes and family in the trucks.” Ada said, unblinking. Gavin could see her sharp teeth as she spoke. That wasn’t a good sign. Nines’ teeth might have been out too, but he had his mouth closed, so he couldn’t tell. Gavin, now feeling awkward, looked into the water as he mulled over what to say next. 

“Look, I know you guys… don’t have the best memories with the trucks, but they’re the only way to get you out of here. I can’t just fill the trunk of my car with water, not that both of you would fit anyway…” Gavin said. He looked back up at them, only to find them quietly between themselves. It wasn’t like they had to be quiet, they were making various sea creature noises that Gavin didn’t know the meaning of. 

Gavin waited patiently for them. While he did, he tried to figure out what he was going to do to get them out. The trucks were the only way to keep them in water, but what happens after that? The trucks had the aquarium’s logo on them, they’d be detected as soon as the owners realized they were gone. There had to be some way.

Gavin made a promise to himself right there. He was going to get Nines and Ada out. No matter the cost.


End file.
